Filed under: Uncategorized, Winemaking | Tags: 2016 harvest, Mariah Vineyards, Mendocino Ridge, Pinot Noir, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir
On Thursday we had another Waits-Mast fruit pick, this time some Pinot Noir grapes from Mariah Vineyard in Mendocino Ridge. It was a jam-packed day at the winery (we make our wine at Roar Wines in San Francisco) and a particularly hectic day for our winemaker. She awoke in the wee hours for a grape pick for another winery (complicated by a tree falling in the vineyard too!) and spent the day sorting that fruit and doing other harvest work. She wrapped up in time to brave rush hour traffic, meeting us at our San Francisco facility by about 6pm.
Mariah grapes hanging out in the cold room before sorting on Sept. 15, 2016. Photo: J. Waits
Filed under: Events, Vineyards, Winemaking | Tags: 2016 harvest, Anderson Valley, Nash Mill Vineyard, Oppenlander Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir, WineSong
We are just back from a long weekend in Mendocino/Anderson Valley for several Winesong-related tasting events. It’s also the thick of harvest, which necessitated a few vineyard visits as well as picks at another two. Meanwhile, Brian celebrated a milestone birthday, so we tried to squeeze in some cake amid all of the wine work.
Birthday sign for Brian at the Andiron Inn. Photo: J. Waits
Filed under: Vineyards | Tags: 2016 harvest, Anderson Valley, Pinot Noir, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir, Wentzel Vineyard
And we’re off…On Labor Day, the 2016 harvest began for Waits-Mast Family Cellars. We brought in our first pinot noir pick from our little section (the Clos) in Wentzel Vineyard in Anderson Valley yesterday. As predicted, we were exactly one week later than our first pick (also from that vineyard) in 2015.
Wentzel Vineyard pinot noir grapes. September, 2016. Photo: J. Waits
Filed under: Vineyards | Tags: 2016 harvest, Anderson Valley, Mendocino Ridge, Waits-Mast Pinot Noir
Fruit at Wentzel Vineyard on August 28, 2016. Photo: J. Waits
Over the weekend we headed north to Mendocino County to see how all of the Waits-Mast pinot noir vineyard sources are doing. Harvest is in full swing for many wineries already and we are getting close to picking our first fruit. We trekked up to Mendocino Ridge first to visit Mariah Vineyard. Fog was rolling in as we arrived at the vineyard on Saturday morning and owners Dan and Vicki Dooling told us that it was the first fog that they’d seen in about two months. We walked the rows with them and based on the color (there were still some green berries), taste of the fruit and sugar measurements (our winemaker Shalini brought along her portable refractometer), the Doolings are estimating that harvest for us is about 2 to 3 weeks away. Continue reading
ValleyFogBlog 